June 1998

Cracks are widening in the frontline defense against the AIDS virus--drugs that inhibit essential viral enzymes called proteases and reverse transcriptases. At the 12th World AIDS conference in Geneva, Switzerland, separate teams of U.S.

The first fruit of a collaboration between libraries and scientific publishers to rein in soaring journal costs will be a journal tentatively called Organic Chemistry Letters, the American Chemical Society (ACS) announced today.

On 27 June 1970, U.S. virologist David Baltimore published a breakthrough paper in Nature describing reverse transcription. The process enables some viruses to insert their genetic material into the DNA of healthy human cells, which can lead to tumors and other diseases.

Few scientists give much thought to UFOs, but UFO tales received a serious 4-day hearing by nine senior physical scientists at a workshop late last year. In a report released today, the panel concluded that some of what they heard merited further scientific study.

Size may not matter to female insects, but shape certainly does. Researchers have found that genitalia are much more diverse in species in which the females couple with several males before choosing the sperm that fertilize her eggs.

Ground controllers have lost contact with SOHO, the premier sun-watching satellite. Controllers were putting SOHO--the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory--through routine maneuvers on Wednesday when a safeguard program kicked in unexpectedly.